


can't take my eyes off of you

by renjunethereal



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: -Ish, Aged Up NCT Dream, Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Cute Kids, Ficlet, Fluff, Kid Zhong Chen Le, M/M, Romance, a lot of this is about Jeno's smile, chenle is cute, jeno is a dad, mark is a kindergarten teacher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjunethereal/pseuds/renjunethereal
Summary: Mark wonders if it's low of him to be kind of into one of his student's dad upon first sight.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Mark Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 310
Collections: nono birthday bash





	can't take my eyes off of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dimsum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimsum/gifts).



> to one of my favourite people, hui. thank you for being you <3
> 
> hope you like this! sorry if it's not exactly what you expected hehe.

Mark wonders if it's low of him to be into one of his student's dad upon first sight.

Chenle’s dad has always been kind of an enigma—Chenle never talks about a mother, so Mark chooses not to think about that too much—all he knows is that he’s a busy, busy man, so much so that he can’t even pick up his own son from school. Instead there’s an ever changing cycle of family friends for Chenle to run up to and hug, and while that’s great and all, at least he’s getting picked up, Mark can’t help but wonder just who he is. The mafia? A superspy? An absurdly rich man that dresses up in a bat costume and kicks ass in his spare time?

He could be none and all of those things for all Mark knows, but none of all his questioning could prepare him for the fact that Chenle’s dad is hot as _fuck_.

Mark is almost physically taken aback when he walks through the door, mostly because of the aforementioned hotness but also because he’s picking up Chenle at all. Mark almost thinks he’s another one of Chenle’s “uncles” until he sees the kid’s eyes widen at the sight of him, nearly bowling into the man in an effort to hug him as a loud “Papa!’ escapes his lips. Yep. That’s his dad alright. His very nicely dressed father who also happens to have a bone structure carved by the gods.

Chenle’s dad smiles then, an endearing thing that brightens his whole face and makes his eyes disappear into crescents, and Mark has to forcibly tear his gaze away before he gets caught staring.

He’s not fast enough though, as the other man makes eye contact with him for a single, heart racing second, before he turns back to Chenle to say something and _oh my god they’re coming over here no no no no—_

“Mr. Lee!” Chenle exclaims, bounding over to him with a skip in his step and a hand curled around his father’s fingers. Mark resists cooing, but just barely.

“This is my Papa, Papa this is Mr. Lee!” Chenle says, his free hand flailing a gesture towards each of them.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Chenle’s dad says, holding his hand out to shake. It’s then that Mark fully takes in the other man’s outfit, smartly dressed in a pristine white button down, slacks, and dress shoes. Businessman, then? Couldn’t be, it’s still too casual.

A few seconds too many passes by before Mark realizes he’s staring (again), and scrambles to shake the other man’s hand. He hopes he doesn’t notice how sweaty it is.

“Yes, sorry,” god, why is he saying sorry? “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr.—”

“Jeno is fine,” he interrupts. Mr.— _Jeno’s_ eyes widened then, making him look significantly less intimidating and more like a surprised puppy. “Ah, sorry, that was rude of me, wasn’t it?”

“No, no!” Mark protests. “You’re fine, I just—”

“ _Guyssss_ ,” Chenle buds in, pouting, “stop being so awk— _awkwaw_ —” Chenle stops then, trying but failing to sound out the syllables.

“Awkward, sweetie.” Mark finishes, unable to stop himself from smiling at Chenle’s antics. He vehemently denies ever having any favourites, but if he had to choose, Chenle would definitely be one of them.

Jeno chuckles, muttering something under his breath that Mark can’t quit make out, before holding out his hand again. Mark furrows his brows in confusion, but before he can say anything Jeno is speaking again.

“Let’s try this again. Hi, my name is Lee Jeno, but you can call me Jeno. What’s yours?” Mark can’t help but inhale a little bit harshly at the brightness of Jeno’s smile, the warmth in his eyes. God, he’s known this man for maybe ten minutes and he’s already in way too deep to get out now.

“Lee Mark,” He replies, shaking his hand with a firmer, more confident grip. “But you can call me Mark.”

“Mark,” Jeno repeats, and Mark likes the way his name sounds on his tongue. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Since Jeno’s first appearance (Donghyuck, the teacher down the hall, calls it _Dilf-gate_ , to Mark’s chagrin), the man seems to have made a point to pick Chenle up from school at least once a week, and each time Mark manages to learn something new about him.

Jeno is, somewhat unfortunately, not Batman, but he’s the next best thing: a veterinarian. Suddenly Chenle’s obsession with all things furry and cute made sense, as well as Jeno’s busy schedule. Of course, the knowledge that Jeno is not only hot, polite, and a loving father, but that he’s also a doctor for animals doesn’t do much to quell Mark’s rapidly growing crush on the man. It’s like Mark made him up in a self-insert fanfiction.

“Okay everyone! Don’t forget to hand in your parent-teacher conference forms to me by next Friday!” Mark announces after the bell rings. He can't help but smile a bit at the mishmash of high-pitched “yes Mr. Lee!”s he gets, the smile growing bigger when he sees how they’re practically vibrating to get out of their chairs. 

“Okay, you can go now.” Mark says, laughing when all of the kids scramble to their cubbies. He can’t blame them too much, even if it is his job to keep them engaged in school—home is where the heart is, after all. 

He rushes to open the door while they put on their coats and shoes, greeting the parents outside with a polite smile before the first batch of kids can start bounding towards the door. Single file, no shoving, of course. He’s taught them that much.

Mark isn’t necessarily waiting for Jeno to show up (he totally is), but seeing the familiar silhouette of Jeno’s coat and his hair pushed off his forehead never fails to make Mark’s heart skip a beat. 

“Good afternoon. Class went well today, I take it?” Jeno says, eyes on Chenle even amidst the crowded chaos of the cubbies. He does this a lot, talking about class, or Chenle, or a school event coming up—the basic parent talk, pretty much, but Mark savours it, holds onto the tiny pieces of Jeno that he gets to know as a byproduct.

“Very,” Mark nods, feeling awkward as a silence settles between them. Usually he’s better at talking to parents than this, but at the same time those parents don’t usually encompass his thoughts as much as Jeno has. 

“Oh!” Mark says, suddenly remembering something. Jeno jerks beside him, startled, his eyebrows reaching up towards his hairline. Mark belatedly notices that his dark circles have gotten worse, but keeps his mouth shut. 

“We’re having parent-teacher conferences in a few weeks. I know your job keeps you very busy, so if you can’t make it maybe we could do a conference call—”

Jeno shakes his head. “That won’t be necessary. I’m sure I could clear off my schedule somewhere.” The for you is left unsaid, hanging in the air by a thread, but it makes Mark’s heart skip a beat all the same.

“Oh. Well then, that’s—that’d be great.” Mark says. Jeno smiles. There’s the barest hint of a smirk there, but Mark thinks he must be imagining it.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Jeno says, and suddenly they’re back where they started, Mark red-faced as he looks down at the ground, trying to think of something to say, and Jeno, put-together, mild-mannered, intimidating as fuck Jeno watching his son from across the room, oblivious as ever.

Something’s wrong today.

Mark notices it right away—it’s way too quiet in here. It’s still loud, of course, lots of chit chatting and chairs skidding and pencils dropping, but it’s not loud enough. Something’s missing.

He doesn’t realize what it is, or rather, _who_ it is, until he’s taking attendance.

“Chenle?” Mark says. He doesn’t get an answer.

He tries again. “Chenle? Lee Chenle?”

Mark’s gaze shifts towards Chenle’s seat, Jisung looking just as confused as he is at the empty space where Chenle should be. 

“Maybe Lele's running late today,” Jisung pipes up, shrugging his shoulders. Mark smiles reassuringly.

“Maybe,” he says, though he’s not sure he believes it. 

It’s not until later, when the kids are doing a table group activity and Mark is anxiously bouncing his leg, still waiting for Chenle to make an appearance that he gets a call on the school landline.

“He’s sick?” Mark repeats. 

“Yeah, he’s running a high fever, so he won’t be coming in today,” Jeno explains. He sounds tired. “Sorry for not letting you know sooner, I was taking care of him.”

“No, I completely understand,” Mark says. “Thanks for letting me know. Is he going to be away for the next few days?”

“Most likely,” Jeno sighs. If Mark strains his ears enough, he can make out the sound of coughing in the background, and his heart sinks. “Is there homework? I’ll go pick it up for him today.”

Mark has an idea. A risky little lightbulb that goes off in his head and suddenly his mouth is moving faster than he can catch it. “Or I could just swing by your place and drop it off.”

Mark prepares himself to be shot down, maybe a bit insulted because what kindergarten teacher goes to their student’s house? He wouldn’t even blame Jeno if he never wanted to see him again, or if he transferred Chenle to a different school, or—

“Really? That’d be great!” Jeno says. “Ah, I should probably give you my personal phone number then right? For updates.” 

_Oh_. Mark lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Well that went... _way_ better than he expected.

“I—” Mark jumps at the sound of screaming. He looks over, and sighs. Byungjin is putting gum in Mina’s hair again. Before he goes, he turns back to the phone. “I’d like that. Sorry, I have to go now, can you call back?”

Mark can hear Jeno’s chuckle, sending shivers down his spine. “Of course, duty calls. I’ll see you later, Mark.”

Mark smiles to himself as the phone disconnects, before another scream is heard. Byungjin, this time—Mina must be fighting back. He sighs. 

“Mina! You do not pull out other people’s hair!”

Mark doesn’t know what he expects when the door to Jeno’s apartment opens, but it’s certainly not _this_.

“Are those...dog ears?” Mark asks tentatively. He’s still staring at the top of Jeno’s head, where two white, fluffy ears are nestled into his hair, the headband attached just barely visible. The sight alone almost made Mark drop his folder.

“It’s—It’s not what it looks like, I swear.” Jeno says, an embarrassed flush running all the way up to his ears (his actual ones), down past the neckline of his shirt. It’s a cute look on him.

“So you’re not wearing dog ears—” Mark looks down, eyes catching on the velcro belt around Jeno’s hips and the flash of white fur swishing behind him. 

“—and a tail, in your apartment in broad daylight?” Mark asks. Jeno winces.

“Okay, yes, I am, but it’s only because—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because Chenle bounces in, clad only in his dog-patterned pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

“Doggy! There you are!” Chenle exclaims. If Mark’s eyes weren’t already wide enough at that, they grow even bigger when Jeno immediately kneels down so Chenle can...pet him. Oh. _Oh_.

Jeno has a serene smile on his face as Chenle pets him, as if this is a regular occurence (is it?), but when he tilts his head to look at Mark he’s raising a very well kept, threatening eyebrow. _Not_ _a word_ , he mouths.

It takes a minute for Chenle to notice Mark on the other side of the doorway, but when he does his eyes light up, before disappearing under his smile. Just like his dad, Mark can’t help thinking.

“Mr Lee! What are you doing here?” Chenle asks. The tail end of his sentence is cut off by a cough, and Mark’s heart clenches.

“Hi Chenle,” Mark greets, crouching down so he’s eye level. “I’m just here to drop off your homework for the week. How’re you feeling?”

“Good! I’m ready to go back tomorrow!” Chenle exclaims, before bursting into another fit of coughs. Jeno is by his side immediately, whispering soothing words as he coaxes a glass of water past Chenle’s lips to drink.

“He is very much not ready to go back tomorrow,” Jeno chides, picking Chenle up easily with one hand. Mark pointedly ignores the way his muscles bulge. Chenle whines, says he misses Sungie (Jisung, probably), but Jeno is firm.

“The only place you’re going is back to bed, mister.” Jeno says, starting to make way for what must be Chenle’s bedroom. It should be ridiculous, the way Chenle is still absentmindedly scratching behind Jeno’s “ears”, the fake tail still swishing as he walks, but it’s undeniably endearing. 

Jeno’s almost made it to the doorway before he turns around, looking at Mark with a warm smile and even warmer eyes. “What are you still doing standing there? Come in, make yourself at home while I set him down, yeah? We can talk then.” 

Mark nods nonchalantly, or as nonchalantly as he can when his brain is practically shutting down at the notion of talking to Jeno for more than the obligatory after school parent-teacher banter, the many little Marks in his mind running around and screaming because he _definitely_ didn’t prepare himself for this before he came over. He wonders if he imagines the oddly mischievous look Chenle throws over Jeno’s shoulder, but either way it doesn’t quell any of Mark’s anxiety.

Mark’s still kind-of-but-not-really freaking out on the Lee family’s nice leather couch when Jeno reenters, the dog ears somehow still on his head. Jeno must notice where Mark is staring, because he blushes the same pretty pink as before, hurriedly taking the headband off his head. 

“They’re for—” Jeno starts. Mark pointedly stares at the synthetic tail still very much attached to him, and Jeno sputters, scrambling to take that off too.

Jeno clears his throat, still a little bit red when he sits down next to Mark. “Chenle’s always really wanted a dog, but with my job and Chenle at school we could never take care of one. So I uh...play the doggy, sometimes. It’s a bit weird, but it makes him happy,” 

Jeno’s looking down, clearly shy, and Mark takes the moment to really look at him. With most of their meetings having Jeno in smart button ups and iron-pressed slacks, seeing him in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants is definitely different, but refreshing. His hair is free of product, bangs falling just short of too long, and it’s cute. He’s cute. Approachable. Maybe Mark can do this without spontaneously combusting after all.

“I think it’s sweet,” Mark says after a while, earnest. “You’re a good dad, Jeno.”

He offers a tentative smile, smiling wider when Jeno returns it with his own, before his mouth curves just slightly more to the side in a smirk.

“You make a cute dog, too.” Mark can’t help but quip, laughing freely when Jeno groans, hiding his face with his hands. It’s ironic that Jeno looks even more like a puppy like this, with wide, sparkly eyes that peek through his fingertips, hair mussed up in a way that makes him look like he has ears. 

“Oh! Right, Chenle’s homework.” Mark says, reaching over to open his folder. 

He starts going over the lesson plan for the week, and he’s in the middle of explaining how the homework exercises will help him keep up with the class while he’s away when he feels Jeno’s eyes on him.

“Do I—do I have something on my face?” Mark asks tentatively. Of course, if that were the case maybe Jeno would look more alarmed, and not the warm, fond, heart-melting gaze he has on him right now.

Jeno’s smile is nothing short of breathtaking, all serene and soft with his eyes disappearing into little barely there half moons, and you’d think Mark would be used to it by now, but it’s even more breathtaking when he’s like this, with his hair messy and dressed down in sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

“Nothing,” Jeno says simply, and the moment is over, but Mark’s still left reeling all the same.

Chenle comes back to school a few days later, a bounce in his step, colour in his cheeks, and somehow even more energetic than before. It’s like he never left.

Having Chenle back brings back a certain atmosphere Mark didn’t know he was missing for the past few days, the boy never failing to be the first to participate, the first to joke and lighten up the atmosphere. He really is the class moodmaker, his return undoubtedly proving it. 

Which is why Mark can sense it immediately when something is off. Chenle’s not here yet, and class starts in two minutes. It’s fine, probably, but Chenle loves being on time, usually one of the first ones in the classroom.

Mark still goes on with the morning routine though, because worried or not he still has a class to run. He’s in the middle of taking attendance, Chenle’s name on the tip of his tongue, when Chenle runs in. 

“Here! I’m here!” Chenle exclaims. His jacket seems haphazardly thrown on, his backpack half unzipped, and Mark frowns. 

“P...Papa couldn’t drive me today,” Chenle says in between pants. “He’s sick. So one of Papa’s friends took me...but...but it took a long time. I’m sorry, Mr. Lee.”

_Jeno’s sick?_ Oh god, if Mark wasn’t worried before, he definitely is now. 

“It’s okay, Chenle,” Mark says in spite of himself, “just go put on your indoor shoes and join us, yeah? What matters is that you’re here.” 

Chenle’s answering smile, bright and wide and so, so adorable, makes Mark feel better, but only a little bit.

Mark can’t stop thinking about Jeno the whole day, and not in the usual, butterfly-inducing way either. He shot Jeno a text already, asking if he’s okay, but it seems he hasn’t seen it yet. 

He knows it’s not his business—Jeno is an adult, after all, he can take care of himself—but that doesn’t stop him from thinking about all the scenarios where Jeno can’t take care of himself, the call of his name and the raising of hands the only things keeping him out of his thoughts, but just barely.

The school day is nearly over when Mark gets a phone call. He practically scrambles for it when he sees who it is, thankful the kids are out for recess. 

“Jeno?” Mark says. There’s a harsh coughing fit at the end of the line, and Mark’s heart clenches painfully when he hears Jeno’s fruitless attempt to muffle the sound.

“Hi, Mark.” Jeno says, voice scratchy and barely there.

“Oh, geez. You’re really sick, aren’t you?” Mark frowns. He hears some rustling at the other end—Jeno must still be in bed.

“Heh, it’s not too bad. I’m still breathing, at least.” Jeno chuckles, but even that sounds deflated and tired. 

“Anyways, that’s not why I called you. Today’s when I usually pick up Chenle because everyone I know is usually busy this afternoon, but I uh...can’t really do that right now.” Jeno says. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but is it okay if you drive him home today?”

“Of course, that’s not a problem at all. I—” Mark stops. Blinks. He hears clicking. Constant clicking, like someone is typing away on a computer.

“Are you working right now?” Mark asks. The clicking stops, but Mark can faintly make out the slower, quieter clicks of the keys, like Jeno’s trying not to get caught. Even though he very obviously was not even two minutes ago.

“ _Maaaybe_ ,” Jeno says slowly. He swallows, like he’s trying to hold in a cough, and it makes his voice sound tight and airy and not okay at all. “I just have to finish some paperwork before Chenle comes home, so I can focus all my time on him, and then start preparing dinner—” 

“Do you have ‘taking care of yourself’ anywhere on that schedule?” Mark interrupts. “Did you even take your meds?”

Jeno is silent. “I was just planning on sleeping it off,” he admits. “It’s really not that bad, I promise, also I don’t even have anything that could help right now—” his sentence is cut off by another coughing fit, followed by an ugly, airy wheeze. 

“Oh my god, you are not doing anything the second Chenle and I come into that house. You are going to put your laptop away and go to sleep, and when you wake up I’ll be there to take care of you.” Mark says. It’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. Jeno sputters excuses on the other end of the line, but Mark’s already made up his mind.

“I’ll see you later, Jeno.” Mark says, and doesn’t wait for Jeno to answer before he hangs up. Screw twiddling his thumbs and tripping over his sentences—he’s got a grown man in his thirties to take care of.

“Papa?” Chenle calls as Mark toes off his shoes. Mark’s worried about him—he seemed just as restless as Mark was when they were in the car, his little face pinched in worry. 

Chenle still has his boots on when he runs towards what must be Jeno’s bedroom, and Mark has half a mind to scold him before he hears a dry cough in the distance.

“Hi baby,” Mark hears Jeno coo as he makes his way into the bedroom. The place is kind of a mess—the bed sheets are pulled up from the mattress, papers strewn across Jeno’s desk, and tissues overflow out of the wastebasket next to Jeno’s bed. In the middle of it all is Jeno, bedridden and petting over Chenle’s hair with one hand. 

Chenle has his arms out, trying to hug the man, but Jeno’s holding him back gently. Chenle pouts. “But I wanna hug you!”

“No baby, you might get sick again, and then you’ll miss more school. And you don’t want that, right?” Jeno says, smiling even as Chenle’s pout sinks deeper.

“He’s right, Lele.” Mark says, crouching down so he can put his hands on Chenle’s shoulder. “How about you go do some of your homework, and that way you have the whole day to take care of your papa?”

Chenle ponders over this for a moment, before that same precious smile grows on his face. “Okay! Don’t get more sick while I’m gone, Papa!” He says, before running out the door. “I’m gonna finish my homework super duper fast so I can make you all better again!”

Jeno laughs, airy and tired, but happy. “I’m looking forward to it!”

A door clicks shut in the distance, and with that Mark gets to work, checking Jeno’s temperature with a hand on his forehead while the other takes the little tube of medicine out of the bag, having taken a quick pit stop to the pharmacy while on the way to Jeno’s house.

“Jesus, you’re really hot.” Mark mutters, before he realizes what he just said and his cheeks start pinking.

“Thanks.” Jeno says, a coy smile on his face. “Also, ‘Lele’? Is that what the kids are calling him these days? It’s cute, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner.” He sounds a little hazy, like he’s barely awake, and Mark’s no doctor, but he doesn’t take that as a good sign.

Mark leaves for two seconds to fill up a glass of water in the kitchen sink, and when he comes back he finds Jeno looking even worse than before, skin too pale and breathing heavy.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Mark murmurs, trying to calm Jeno down. 

“Can you drink this for me?” He asks, holding up the glass of water to Jeno’s lips. Jeno takes several deep, heavy gulps, and Mark sighs in relief. 

“Chenle isn’t mine, y’know.” Jeno says suddenly, and Mark startles, shoulders tensing. Jeno doesn’t seem to notice, too busy shaking his head with a dumb smile on his face. 

“Not biologically. He was the child of a couple I knew, we were very good friends. Met each other in the same university before I branched off to do veterinary school. I was—” Jeno coughs, and Mark hands Jeno more water, the latter taking it gratefully. 

“—I was one of the first people to know they were having a kid. I was so happy for them, I bought them all kinds of onesies and bibs and pacifiers,” Jeno laughs tiredly. “I went a little baby-crazy, and it wasn’t even mine.”

“He was the most beautiful baby boy, you should have seen him, he had these adorable chubby cheeks and could smile for hours and hours—I tried to keep it that way, at least. I loved it when he smiled.”

“I was babysitting, one time, because it’s been forever since Chenle’s parents had any time for himself. I insisted on it, told them they deserve this and that Chenle would be fine...” Jeno’s eyes seem glassy, then, and Mark rushes to get the pill into Jeno’s mouth, before he too would get too engrossed. Jeno takes it without complaint, drinks a few gulps of water before continuing. Mark thinks about telling him to stop, to ask him why he’s telling him this in the first place, but keeps silent. Maybe he needs this.

“They got into a car crash,” Jeno says softly, eyes far away. “It was bad. Their car was completely totaled, they said—” Jeno’s voice breaks, “—they said they couldn’t barely even recognize who was in the car. Chenle was two years old.”

“Chenle didn’t have any family he could go to,” Jeno says. “They were going to take him to an orphanage, or through the foster system, and I just—I just couldn’t let them. I vowed that day, when I was filling out Chenle’s adoption papers, that I would give him everything I knew his parents would have given him. I would be the father he deserves.”

“And now…” Jeno sighs. “and now I can’t even manage that. I have to keep bothering people with my problems just to get him picked up from school. I’m so busy that I barely have enough time for him, and I—” Jeno’s voice breaks again, and Mark realizes he’s fully crying now, tears falling and staining the duvet.

“Hey, hey,” Mark, whispers soothingly, putting a hand on Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno starts leaning in, and Mark doesn’t protest when the other man’s head falls on his shoulder. 

“There’s nothing wrong with getting other people’s help. You’re still an amazing father. Chenle’s healthy, and well-mannered, and he loves you. So stop beating yourself up, because help or not, Chenle’s happy, and that’s all that matters.” He can feel Jeno let out a chuckle against his shoulder, and he’s not sure if that’s a good sign or not.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I’m dumping all of this on you,” Jeno says, voice getting more slurred by the second. “I’m just—I’m just tired.”

“Sleep, then.” Mark says, and Jeno, as if he was waiting for someone to give him permission all along, is out like a light.

Jeno wakes up like he’s rising from his grave, back stick straight and eyes wide. It makes Mark startle from where he’s organizing Jeno’s desk (it was a long and daunting task, but Jeno would thank him later). Chenle came around a couple times earlier to check how his dad was doing, saw that he was sleeping, and slowly tiptoed away, Mark trying to muffle his laughter with a hand at his antics.

“How long was I out?” Jeno asks. He seems a little panicked, but tired, like his body doesn’t want to comply with him.

“About an hour or two, I think?” Mark says.

“ _What?_ ” Jeno exclaims, tearing off the covers. “I have to go make dinner!” 

Jeno makes a move to stand up, but that sends all the blood rushing to his head, enough that he nearly falls, Mark just barely catching him with his hands around Jeno’s waist before he can hit the hardwood.

“The only place you’re going is back to bed, mister.” Mark says, a little bit of mirth in his voice. “Calm down, okay? I’ll make dinner. You just stay here and relax. You already look a lot better with a bit of sleep in you.”

“B-but—” Jeno starts, but Mark shushes him gently. 

“I already called your workplace and told them you’re going to be away for the rest of the week, so don’t even think about doing any work.” For a second Mark thinks Jeno’s going to protest again, but instead he offers Mark a small, if disbelieving smile. He opens his mouth to say something, before the door pushes open and Chenle comes running in.

“Oh! Are we allowed hugs now? I want a hug!” Chenle exclaims, Mark and Jeno barely having any time to think before Chenle runs into them with a resounding oof, winding his arms around both their legs and effectively trapping them together.

“Hi, baby.” Jeno says softly, ruffling Chenle’s hair. Chenle squeezes tighter at that, seemingly proud of the little circle of hugging he made as he starts to talk about what he wants for dinner. Mark coos at how his cheek squishes into Jeno’s thigh. 

When he looks back up, Jeno still has his hand petting over Chenle’s hair, but his eyes are on Mark. Mark raises an inquiring eyebrow at him, and Jeno smiles fully this time, so wide and so bright, it makes his eyes disappear into crescents. He whispers something amidst Chenle’s excited rambling, barely even audible, but Mark knows what he said.

_Thank you._

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> mark stays for dinner and they get into a brief period of will-they-won't-they before jeno asks him for coffee after their parent teacher interview.
> 
> come talk to me about things!
> 
> [twt](https://mobile.twitter.com/renjunethereal)
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/renjunethereal)


End file.
